The Productivity Suite Software allows us to modify our existing program and execute the new code without stopping the scanning of the PLC. This is referred to as online editing. We change the ladder logic code and when we save it to the PLC, the current scan of the PLC is held until the new code is written into the unit. It then releases the scan and our new program start to execute. This happens in milliseconds so our process can continue to operate.
Troubleshooting the logic in our PLC sometimes can be difficult. The Productivity Suite Software has a Debug Mode. This will allow us to control the scan cycle of the PLC, decide on the rungs to execute and control the physical outputs during this time. This ability of control helps to fix errors or understand existing code in our programmable logic controller.
We will be taking our existing Start / Stop circuit from last time and add a Jog input using online editing. We will then use the debug mode in the Productivity Suite software to understand the scan and the jog function that we added.
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